Unpopular
by mrmrb2500
Summary: Kageyama Shigeo only wanted to be popular so that his childhood crush can pay attention to him. Shizuma Yumei only wanted to be popular because she wanted friends. In this story of espers and evil spirits - two individuals want the same thing: and that is to be popular. Hopefully, they could find what they want. And possibly more than they could ever hope for. Mob X OC.
1. 01 - New Student

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mob Psycho 100. One-sensei does.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 01 - New Student_**

"G-good morning, Kageyama- _kun_!"

"Ah, good morning to you, too, _senpai_."

"Hello, Kageyama- _kun_. No meeting for today?"

"Yeah, the president didn't announced any."

"Say, are you free later, Ritsu- _kun_?"

"I'm sorry but I'm busy, maybe next time?"

Kageyama Shigeo couldn't do anything but stand by and watch how popular his younger brother is with girls. It was one of those days that Ritsu didn't have his usual student council meeting early in the morning, so he was free to go and accompany his older brother to Salt Middle School together. Unfortunately, they were delayed by group of girls who saw the ever popular, Kageyama Ritsu, out in the open and decided that it was a chance to talk to him since he was always busy with his duties.

"Look at Ritsu, you could take a page out of his book for once if you wanted to be so popular, Shigeo." A wispy-like cloud of smoke with a face complete with two big red dots on its "cheeks", spoke to the older brother by his shoulder, floating in mid-air and seemingly invisible to other people as girls walk past them without looking at the weird thing.

"I can never be like Ritsu." Mob addressed the "smoke" nonchalantly, sounding like he was degrading himself.

"Hm? Why did you say that? It's not like you to get pessimistic." The green wisp commented as he spoke what he observed.

"Ritsu can do things that I couldn't, that's why I admire him so much." The older brother replied honestly, staring at his younger brother in silence as his lips infinitesimally turned upwards.

"Sheesh. That's why I have been telling you that you could use your psychic powers to become popular!"

" _Dimple_ ," Mob suddenly said without looking at him, his voice stern. The change in the tone of his voice made Dimple shiver in fear. "I already told you, didn't I? I won't use my psychic powers to something unnecessary."

Mob was a powerful esper that could exorcise evil spirits and do extraordinary things that normal people could not. However, despite this special ability that he has been born with - he does not boast nor use them against people, because he strictly believes that psychic powers are just another talent like any other and having them does not mean you are special. Dimple always thinks this side of him as frustrating, however, that trait of his was actually kind of charismatic.

"Okay, okay! I was just joking, Shigeo! I-I'm gonna go and barge in to Reigen's place. Go before your school bell rings!"

And as if on cue, the school bell did ring.

* * *

Shizuma Yumei was a girl who longed to be popular. There's no reason not to like her as a person, it's just that she was shunned by society ever since she can remember. It was understandable if she was discouraged if boys wouldn't like her back but the problem is, girls wouldn't like her, too. Nobody likes her, nobody ever wants her as a friend, they all _feared_ her. That was the main reason she and her family left Meat City. And the city before that. And the city before that. And _also_ the city before that.

She was constantly changing residences over her life that she couldn't find nor make a friendship that will last long (not that she ever finds any who was willing to talk to her), and that was why she find herself in this new city she will eventually call home: Seasoning City.

Her mother and father, after much debate, decided to enroll her to Salt Middle School, a typical average school that any other average student attends, and that was how she found herself inside the campus itself, unfortunately lost at her first day of school and was having trouble trying to ask for help; since she had almost no experience in talking to children her age.

The bell rang, signalling the start of today's classes, and she immediately panic. _'WhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdo?'_ she thought as she fixes her glasses on her nose as it begins to slip from her sweat while watching students run towards their own classrooms. _'Come on, Yumei! No one knows you here, just ask a random person!'_ she urged herself, trying to stop a random person to ask for directions. She was always bad at directions, something she was born with.

However, before she can even stop one student, it seemed she bumped into one first. "I-I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that...!" she practically squealed, apologizing profusely as she lower her head so much that she was directly looking at the ground itself. Despite the exclamation, her voice was surprisingly soft, like it was disused for a very long time and she had only just started to use it recently. She was lucky that the person she bumped into was close enough to hear her quiet voice.

"A-Ah. No, it was my fault. I'm sorry, too." A monotonous voice responded, making her look up to the boy who she crossed paths with.

He had black hair and a very unusual bowl-cut hairstyle which she probably noticed first, and he had a blank expression on his face which Yumei couldn't read. Due to that blank face of his, it all the more added to her uneasiness. "U-um, if I offended you p-please tell me, I won't get mad, I'm sorry!"

Mob was taken aback that someone managed to interpret his blank face into that description, more so, a girl. "A-ah, no..! I'm not offended. You do not need to apologize—"

" _Nii-san_!"

Both of them looked around to see a boy with black hair, longer than Mob's which appeared slightly dishevelled. He was significantly taller than the two of them and he was currently waving to the other boy in front of her whilst he jogged towards their direction.

"Ah, Ritsu."

 _Wait, this boy just called him_ 'nii-san' _which means—_

"What are you doing, _nii-san_? The bell—" he stopped short when he saw the girl his brother was talking to, and turned to face her. "I don't see your face around here, are you a new student...?" He asked curiously. She looked up to him shyly and nodded. "Uhh, i-if you don't mind...I'm actually, k-kinda..." her voice was gradually becoming softer and it took the Kageyama brothers to lean forward to hear her words. "...lost."

The new student blushed as she admitted her clumsiness and twiddled her thumbs while looking down to avoid their gaze. Ritsu noticed her movements but didn't took mention of it as he gave a small smile, "I can show you to your class if you like."

Her head immediately snapped up. "R-really?!" The boy just nodded in return. "I'm part of the student council. I'm supposed to show new students around."

Yumei couldn't believe it. She found people willing to help her on her first day without exerting much effort on her part. "Thank you! Um...w-what should I call you?" She added when she realized she didn't catch either of their names.

The taller boy introduced himself, "My name is Kageyama Ritsu, and he's my older brother,"

"I'm Kageyama Shigeo, you can also call me Mob. Please to make your acquaintance." Mob continued with a small smile.

"E-Eh?" Yumei looked surprised at that fact and stared back at Ritsu then to Mob. Now that he mentioned it, they do look kinda similar. However, she soon realized that she hasn't introduced herself yet and recomposed herself. "O-oh! I'm sorry, how rude of me! My name is Shizuma Yumei. Pleasedtomakeyouracquaintance!" She said the last bit in one go anxiously since this was the first time people were willing to talk to her - and it even lasted more than 2 minutes! Yes, she counted.

"Now, Shizuma- _san_. What class are you in?" The younger brother asks politely.

"Uh," she paused to rummaged in her school bag, and seconds later she grabbed a hold of a paper where her class number and class scheduled is printed. "I'm in Class 2-1."

"Eh?"

She looked up to see who gasped and saw Mob looking quite surprised. Ritsu looked between the two of them before sighing to himself, "It seems I'm not needed." He said with a small smile. This just added to Yumei's confusion. "Eh? W-why?" She asked.

Mob took a small step forward, smiling to Yumei as he urged her to follow him. "Shizuma- _san_. Please follow me. I'm also in Class 2-1. We're classmates."

" _Eh_?!"

* * *

 **[A/N]: Hope it wasn't too short or anything. Also, if you find it interesting please leave a comment! _  
**


	2. 02 - Joining a Club

**_Chapter 02 —_** **_Joining a Club_**

Tak tak-taka tak.

 **Shizuma Yumei.**

"G-good morning...m-my name is Shizuma...Yumei. Pleasedtomakeyouracquaintance!" The young girl rushed her sentence in nervousness after stepping aside and writing her full name on the board, lowering her head as she did so in a greeting.

She always write her name just so when people couldn't hear her the first time, they still would know her name, more or less. Too many people have told her that her voice was too quiet and no one could hear her even if she yelled. _Too_ many for her liking.

"Okay, Shizuma- _san_ , you can take a seat beside Mob- _kun_." The teacher instructs her and she nodded, her bangs almost covering her eyes as she did so and looked over to the only vacant seat of the class. _'Mob-kun?'_ she repeated in her mind as she looked to the person sitting beside her seat. _'Oh, it was only Kageyama-san.'_ She sighed in relief as she saw Mob who was also looking back at her with his usual blank face.

Just as she was walking towards her seat, she could hear words as she passed by.

"Look at her, acting shy and awkward."

"That's just all an act to attract boys."

"It makes me wanna puke."

"And why is she transferring at this time of the year?"

"Must be a troublemaker."

 **[Progress towards Yumei's breakdown: 39%]**

She let the ends of her bangs to cover her bespectacled eyes so that no one would know that they got to her. _Of course_ , someone just have to go and ruin her first day of school. Actually, she was kinda expecting it — what with her previous experiences from her previous school. And the previous school. And also the school before that. Fortunately for her, Shigeo couldn't read the atmosphere, and that was why when she send a small wave to his direction, he send one back without noticing any different.

Time passed by fast, as the day continues without any significant events, save for Mob being called out to answer a question he couldn't answer and ended up being laughed at by the whole class again. Yumei felt bad for the boy, especially since he wasn't the only one sleeping in class and yet he was the one chosen to answer.

Yumei tried to offer some kind of consolation to Mob as soon as he sits down. Although before she could, she noticed that any sign of embarrassment that was present in his face earlier was gone, only to be replaced by a deadpan expression. Or was it he had a deadpan expression in the first place and it was she who misunderstood it as embarrassment?

She kept quiet, studying him indiscreetly as she did so and propped her chin on her palm. ' _He sure is hard to read_.' she thought, trying to study his face. She remembered how she interpreted his blank face earlier when they bumped into each other as a negative one and apologized to him. She thought he was offended - but that's just how he was.

Meanwhile, Yumei didn't realize how she was staring _too_ much, causing Mob to sweat and was becoming uncomfortable under her gaze. He had never been stared at by a person after all, more so a female. Did he do something wrong? Why is she staring at him? Did she expect him to talk to her and was staring at him to start a conversation? Was that it?

 **[Progress towards Mob's explosion: 28%]**

Or maybe he was imagining it? Yeah, that's most likely, after all, no female would be interested in him, now. Right? _Right?_ So he relaxed, trying not to stress himself further and tried to pay attention to what the teacher was saying (yet failed to focus since the subject was mathematics). By then, Yumei stopped glancing at Mob and payed attention to class as well, writing formulas on her notebook as she did. Mob noticed this in the corner of his eye, and it allowed him to observe her.

Her oval face was almost covered by her bangs which made him nearly unable to see her dark brown eyes behind her oval-shaped, violet-rimmed glasses. Her straight hair that almost looked like black but was actually medium brown in color fell from her face, stopping on her mid-back. She had a pale skin color, similar to his, yet hers were much more healthier looking.

The bell rang suddenly making his head snap up to the sound, signalling the end of classes for the day and a sign for the students to go home or attend extracurricular activities.

 _'Club, huh? I think Gouda-_ senpai _told us_ _we're going to jog for today_...' Mob mused to himself.

"Stand. Bow." The class representative ordered the class as the teacher exits the room, and as soon as the teacher left, the class was buzzing with activity. Friends invite other friends to hang out, some proceed towards their own respective clubs, others start their own cleaning duties, but there were also some who were diligent enough and started making their homework. Yumei wasn't in any of those groups considering she just started today, so she planned to go to the Student Council to ask about clubs and the like.

But then, she remembered someone who can help her in that endeavor. She turned around eagerly to look for Shigeo but was disappointed to see he was already gone from his seat. _'Of course...I can't expect Kageyama-san for everything. Just because he showed me the way to class doesn't mean I'm already a friend.'_ Yumei thought to herself as she shouldered her school bag and exited the room. _'Besides, I'm used to doing this alone.'_

However, she did not take into account her sense of direction (or the lack of it) as she mistook the teacher's directions multiple times. She tried hard not to appear lost as she casually looked around for the mentioned room, but to no avail. It might be nonsensical to get lost in a small school like Salt Middle School, but she couldn't do anything. She wasn't like this when she was younger, if she remembered right — _she_ was the one guiding her classmates back when they're lost, _not_ the other way around. She had friends back then, too. This was way back before she and her family started moving residences, and it was also around that time that she was despised and feared. It was also around that time, when _that night_ happened.

She was brought back from her absentmindedness when a door to her right opened abruptly, making her jump back in surprise. It seems she still could count on her luck as she saw with a jolt, students wearing red armbands with the words: "Student Council".

"Finally...!" she sighed in relief, watching as the one who opened the door abruptly leave the room and she was planning to go after him but was interrupted.

"P-President! Wait!"

She averted her dark brown eyes to the people inside the room and saw that they were confused by something, judging by their silence and their quirked eyebrows on their faces. She tilted her head at the sight yet stayed silent since she didn't know what's going on.

Then, she saw a familiar face amidst the group of male students and waited for him to glance her way. Once he did so, she meekly waved at him, which effectively gained his attention. "Shizuma- _san_? Why are you here?" Ritsu asks her as he made his way to her. "Uhh, d-did I come at a bad time?" she replied, glancing around them.

Ritsu scratched his cheek, "Well, yeah. The president told us he had something important to tell us tomorrow at the usual morning line-up, but didn't specify what exactly."

She looked back to the retreating figure chased by student council members and assumed he was the president, "Oh...do you have an idea why?" she asked him just to continue their conversation as she pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose. However, that seemed to be the wrong question to ask as she sees his eyes hardened and his face was almost shadowed by his hair.

 _'D-did I say something wrong?!'_ she panicked inwardly, noticing how he went silent out of the blue.

She at once tried to divert the topic. "A-anyway, Kageyama- _kun_ , (can I call you that)?" she quickly added the last bit in which he nodded to. "I, uhh, came here to ask about clubs...I wanted to join one." Ritsu visibly thawed at that and smiled, the type of smile that he always give to the girls when they ask him for a date and he refuses: automatic and polite. "Really? Have you decided, then?" She chuckled nervously, "W-well that's that. I haven't, yet. I came here to ask what kind of clubs the school offers," Ritsu paused, seemingly thinking of something before telling her, "Wait...I think I have the list..."

Yumei watch the younger ravenette make his way inside the Student Council room to search for the said list. Meanwhile, she made herself occupied and decided to stare out of the window in lack of things to do. There at the field, she sees students running around, warming up for their respective sports club. Some are already going home through the main gate, doing whatever a typical middle-schooler would do on a typical day.

Amidst of all the crowds, her dark brown eyes caught something (or someone) as she surveyed the students below. She followed a group of seven making their way out of the school campus, each of them wearing a white t-shirt with magenta-colored PE shorts. What interested her wasn't the choice of colors of their uniform nor how almost all of the males were literally bulging out of their shirts by how muscle-bound they are; _no_ , what interested her was the small, lone figure trailing from behind which obviously indicates his lack of physical fitness. Anyone would notice that bowl-cut hairstyle anywhere.

It intrigued her since she never thought of him to be a sporty type, especially considering his pale complexion that suggests possible anemia, and that his appearance alone screams: "frail". She didn't peg him as the passionate one, but in the contrary, she couldn't read him well enough to know what type of person he is, besides, she just met him earlier today.

Lost in her musings, she didn't realize the figure coming close to her until her name was called.

"I'm sorry, Shizuma- _san._ I couldn't find it." Ritsu told her apologetically, scratching the back of his head while doing so. To his surprise, she smiled, her eyes dazed as if she was looking far away. She then told the younger Kageyama without looking back, her eyes still on the petite figure trailing behind the group of six. "No, it's okay, Kageyama- _kun_."

"Hm?" He hummed in confusion, wondering what changed her mind.

"I think I have a club in mind."


	3. 03 - Meeting the Infamous Telepathy Club

**_Chapter 03 — Meeting the Infamous Telepathy Club_**

A young brunette female made her way through the hallways, trying to find the room of a certain club. She was struggling to find her destination and was again acting casual — trying to appear that she knew what she was doing. As to why she's alone, she refused Ritsu's kind offer for him to accompany her, seeing that just by talking to him alone made the girls eye her with hostility and concluded that if Ritsu was about to go with her, they won't stay silent.

 _'Kageyama-kun_ _is scary,'_ Yumei thought to herself, _'I'm not scared of him but the fact that he has an unspoken fan club is scary.'_

The brunette knew without confirming it that they were, indeed, his admirers. She may not have been in the school long enough but one with perceptive eyes could figure that Ritsu was that typical popular freshman student in every school. She was wary of those types because back in Meat City, in her previous school: Steak Middle School, she befriended a boy who happened to be one of the school's popular guys, so she was bullied a lot, making it one of the reasons she and her family moved.

 _'I've seen this before...or not...'_ She pondered, staring at the infirmary sign above her and debated with herself if she went this way before (although she knew what the answer was deep inside.)

Firstly, the instruction she got was that her destination was near the room 3-1, so of course she went towards the 3rd floor to look for it. But then, when she saw the hanging sign "3-1" indicating the third years' class, she saw another one just above the sliding door, which had to be insignificant she told herself, but when she read the small plaque on the wall, it read "2-3" — meaning there had to be also another plaque reading "3-1", right?

She removed her glasses and wiped it clean before putting them on again, glancing back at the two signs to see if the problem was her dirty glasses, but that wasn't the case.

Now let's analyze.

A passing teacher told her that it was near the room 3-1, and because he was in a real hurry she didn't get to ask the specific location. (She didn't get the chance to ask Ritsu either because he was needed to do something urgent and left). Now the teacher told her it was near the **_room_** 3-1 and not **_class_** 3-1, so she was the one who misunderstood, therefore, she was at fault for her predicament. **But** , the real problem starts here. Because she convinced herself that looking for a single room in a small school like Salt Middle School was a piece of cake, she did not ask for anyone's help. Used to being independent and not relying on anyone was what made her school life easy, so she unknowingly adapted that mindset when she arrived in Seasoning City.

Except that only made her suffer.

She was running out of patience now, at this point she may just give herself a full tour around the campus on her first day. Yet she wasn't giving up, she had to be close now, the plaque was nearing to the number 3-1.

2-6...2-7...2-8...2-9...

"Found it!" sighing in relief, Yumei quickened her pace towards the room beside the room 3-1 and place her hand on the sliding door and peek inside. In the room, what first caught her eye were the numerous gym equipment neatly placed on the floor but her dark brown eyes shifted to the four students sitting around a rectangular table which was full of...snacks and empty wrappers. The four students in question were composed of three males and a girl, all of them lazying around.

"President, what's our club activity for today?" a male with close-shaven black hair, thick eyebrows and a cleft chin who's reading a _manga_ asked aloud, his eyes not leaving the page he was reading.

"Idiot, we don't have one...Oi, Inugawa! That was cheap, planting a bomb there!" the only girl in the room responded, her straight bob cut hairstyle flipping in the air as she turned sharply to look towards the male sitting at her left.

"Don't call it cheap, president. It was a strategic move." the male with light brown hair which was parted in the middle and had round eyebrows (that strongly reminded Yumei of a dog) retorted calmly, his attention focused on the game.

The girl tutted in annoyance and glanced towards the male sleeping soundly on her right, his drool making its way to the surface of the table. "Oi, Kijibayashi. You're sleeping too much!" At the mention of his name, the male with spiky black hair and high cheekbones (that which makes him look undernourished) blinked his eyes slowly, trying to regain his senses from his nap.

Yumei wondered if she got the room right. Yeah of course, she might have been mistaken. After all, she wasn't good at directions so she convinced herself that this was the case; and besides, they called the girl "president", which means whoever she is, she's the club president of this club room. She once again removed her glasses and wiped it clean with her handkerchief and put them back on. She looked up to the sign above the sliding door, and had to pronounce every syllable of it just to make sure she got the room right.

"Body Improvement Club" the sign says.

Obviously, the brunette was deeply confused.

"Ah, president. There's someone at the door."

Yumei quickly snapped her attention towards the voice and find the freshly woken up male was directly pointing at her, which made her jittery at the fact she was caught peeking.

The "president" then looked up languidly towards the said direction. "Hm? Who is it..? _Don't tell me it's the Student Council President—!_ "

Yumei blink in shock as they all stood up in a flash and abandoned all of their previous task at the mention of the Student Council President. The three members who didn't immediately see her wore an alarmed expression. Yumei didn't know if she's to be impressed or not as she saw all the mess on top of the table were all cleaned up in record time. They could make a Rubik's cube master ashamed at the speed of their hands.

"No, no. It's just a girl." Kijibayashi dismissed with a wave of his hand and they all visibly relaxed and sat down. "You could've said so earlier," Tome sighed, bringing out her handheld gaming console from her pocket which she deftly hid. Yumei couldn't help but feel she was treated like a harmless bunny that scared the group making camp in a dark forest and was dismissed, with how the male phrased it.

"E-excuse me..." she opened the door a bit more since she was found out and decided to speak with them, straining her voice to project louder. The four simultaneously looked at her as she spoke. "Is this the club room for the Body Improvement Club?"

"Yeah," Tome nodded uninterested.

"Th-then are you also a part of this club?"

"Nope. We're the Telepathy Club."

"Eh? Telepathy?" Yumei glanced at the sign again. "You mean, like... _the_ telepathy?"

Tome looked up to stare at the short brunette since she heard something from her that piqued her interest. The female ravenette then put down her gaming console and propped her chin on her interlaced fingers. "You seem to be interested in our club," she told her, face becoming serious.

"Huh?" Yumei asks, genuinely surprised.

"Saruta! Give her a seat." Tome demanded and the male with the close-shaven hair immediately gave her one.

"Uh, I'm not really..." the brunette's sentence trailed off as Inugawa pushed her gently towards the chair and sat her down. "Do you like tea?" he asked her, which surprised her but nodded anyway.

"It's nice meeting you, I'm the club's president: Kurata Tome, from class 3-5." the female introduced herself as she stood up, looking down at her.

"I'm Kijibayashi from class 3-1," the one who was previously sleeping said.

"I'm Inugawa, from class 2-3." the doggy eyebrows (she can't help but compare) said, while handing her a cup of tea which she received and thanked him.

"And I'm Saruta from class 1-5." the one who offered her a chair said.

"We're the Telepathy Club!"

"Um...hello. My name's Shizuma Yumei from class 2-1." she couldn't help but introduce herself as well since it will be viewed as rude.

"So, Shizuma- _chan_. Are you interested in joining our club?" Tome asks her as she made her way towards the trapped brunette.

Yumei felt intimidated by this misunderstanding as she raised her hands in front of her. "Wh-what does your club do, exactly?" She asks, trying to at least clarify what their club was.

Tome struck a pose, one of her hand on her chest as the other flew to the air dramatically. "We try and develop our brains so that we can achieve telepathy and communicate with the aliens outside our world!"

Yumei couldn't believe that she easily said that with a straight face, and what bewildered her was that they even went to the point in creating a club. They must be touched in the head to seriously believe that.

"Have you been successful so far, _senpai_?" the brunette asks the older female, as she took a sip from her tea.

Tome's optimism deflated as she mentioned it and looked down. "...No, that's why we're searching for espers and do the deed for us."

Yumei's dark brown eyes widened and choked on her tea when she heard a familiar word.

"O-oi, are you okay, Shizuma-chan?" Tome asks the younger female as she coughed hard, setting down her cup of tea on the table as the older female placed a hand on Yumei's back to alleviate the pain.

" _E_ - _e_ - _esper_?!" Yumei repeated, pushing back her oval glasses with a finger as it slid down. "Do you seriously believe that Kurata- _senpai_?"

"Espers exist." Tome nonchalantly replied.

"Yeah, they do." Kijibayashi added with a straight face.

"Ehh?" Yumei couldn't believe her ears. They _were_ serious about this, and they actually believe in espers like an unwavering devotee. Their eyes all held that same gaze, like they have something they knew that she didn't.

"More importantly, why are you so upset about it? You an esper?" Tome joked, an eyebrow raised.

Yumei's heart stopped at the accusation and visibly froze (which Tome noticed) before laughing uncharacteristically with a big smile. "Y-y-you've got to be joking, Kurata-senpai! Haha, _me_? I-I don't even know e-espers exist!" She then shakily reached for her tea once more and took a sip to calm her nerves.

"Huh? You're from class 2-1, right?" Saruta asks her in which she nodded. "Then you should be Kageyama's classmate...so why," he trailed off. Yumei raised her eyebrows since she didn't know how that was connected to their current topic.

"Ah!" doggy eyebrows said. "She's a new student!"

" _Oh_!" They all simultaneously exclaim.

"That explains why I didn't see your face before when we went looking for recruits." Kijibayashi mused to himself.

"And that explains why she didn't know Kageyama was a..." Saruta trailed off before looking to the others with an uncertain look, as if he was asking for permission from nobody in particular. This left Yumei _extremely_ confused especially since they were being cryptic out of nowhere and purposely leaving her out of it as they share a look between each other, well maybe except for the club president herself.

"Anyway, this has dragged on long enough, will you join our club, Shizuma- _chan_?!" Tome extends her right hand to her as if she was expecting a handshake.

Yumei stared at the hand in front of her and bit her lip. She originally came here to join the Body Improvement Club, and not this... _weird_ club. (She needs to improve her vocabulary if that was the only word she can think of to describe them.) But she'll admit, they were pretty interesting to say the least. Their objective wasn't far off when they plan to search for an esper instead of killing their brain cells to "develop" their brains to achieve telepathy. However, the idea of extraterrestrials were a bit too much for her. Though, _'If espers exist then so must do aliens...'_

This tense situation was gladly interrupted by the opening of a door, making them all jump in surprise because they weren't expecting it. Yumei welcomed the interruption with open arms as she turned to look around and saw the group of males she saw jogging earlier, entering the threshold.

"We're back!" a tall and muscular teen said with a booming voice, wiping a sweat on his thick eyebrows with a hand towel.

"Ah! Musashi- _san_! You're early today." Tome remarked.

The said male only nodded, "We'll take this time to rest since we'll carry weights tomorrow."

Then, as if there was a magnet attached to her, all of their eyes landed on Yumei who was sitting on a chair with a cup of tea on her hands; and since she was in that position, she was immediately in the center of the crowd, with the Telepathy Club in front of her and the Body Improvement Club blocking the door as they entered, it made her visibly shrink at the amount of eyes on her.

Meanwhile, a certain short male was peeking through the tall bodies in front of him by standing on his toes since they were blocking his view. He wondered what was the commotion was all about, considering he was dead tired and only wanted to sit down, rest, change and then go home. Fortunately for him, he didn't get to collapse because (thankfully) Musashi called it a day.

"Hm, who's this? A new face?" a male with unnaturally pointed pompadour hairstyle asks the one question they have in mind as they stare at the newcomer.

Tome perked up at that, "Oh, she's our new—"

"I would like to join the Body Improvement Club!" Yumei interrupted, standing up abruptly and lowering her head with her arms straight on her sides as she faced them.

"—member...Eh?" Tome trailed off, trying to process what she heard.

Silence reigned the room for a moment, letting the words sink in...

.

.

.

.

" **EH?!** "

"Oh, you want to join us?" a short stoic man with a shaved head asks rhetorically.

"Good to have you!" Musashi exclaims with a smile, holding out a hand for a handshake which she gladly took.

* * *

"...You've got to be kidding me,"

"I-I'm experiencing _Deja vu._ "

"That's the _**second**_ time..."

Was the only words the shell-shocked Telepathy Club kept repeating over and over.


	4. 04 - To a Home That Never Felt Like One

**_Chapter 04 — To a Home That Never Felt Like_** ** _One_**

The sun hung low on the horizon, signalling that nighttime will be soon upon the residents of Seasoning City; and in this particular timeline — Yumei found herself running towards a silhouette on her way back home.

"K-Kageyama- _san!_ " she panted, catching up to the male. The said male only looked back in surprise and confusion, stopping in his tracks for her to catch up. "Shizuma- _san_?" he asks, genuinely surprised for once.

"A-are you..." she paused to catch her breath, her heart pounding in her ears from that small jog. "—going home this way?"

Shigeo blinked, not expecting this as he replied shortly. "Yes."

"I see..." she then became withdrawn all of a sudden, like she was hesitant to say something; but whatever she had in mind wouldn't stay there for long since her fear eventually overwhelms her timidness. "My house is also this way...shall we...go together?" she suggested, her voice becoming softer again because she wasn't used to asking someone this type of question.

The same goes for Mob, who instantly exploded into a stuttering mess when he heard what she said, his cheeks going pink. "E-eh...?!"

With how he was acting, it flustered her in return, her cheeks getting redder than his and was gesticulating everywhere. "I mean...! There's n-n-nothing wrong with just walking together, right?!"

"Ah..." he says, snapping out of it. "You're right..." he agreed, seeing her point but still couldn't get rid of the pink hues on his cheeks. Seeing him so calm about it caught her off guard, inevitably giving off a vibe that would make her calm, too. Who wouldn't, without looking at that deadpan face? _'He really is hard to read.'_ she thought wryly while pushing her glasses back.

She then started to walk with her hands both clutching her school bag in front of her, stiff and nervous to talk first especially to an acquaintance she just met. Shigeo fell into stride with her as he followed suit, being a gentleman enough to wait for her and let her lead to avoid being rude; however, they walked side by side so as not to let each other feel left out.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the distance was a certain ravenette male looking quietly towards two silhouettes in front of him, walking together side by side — and in a moment of pure happiness, he wiped a tear coming out from his eye before walking to a different route home, thinking,

 _'I'm proud of you, nii-san.'_

* * *

Mob still couldn't get the idea in his head that a girl was _willingly_ walking with him on the way home. And she was the one who asked first! Okay, maybe he was thinking too much of it, and she even said herself that her house happened to be this way too, so there was no need to be so overexcited about it. He was sure if Dimple was here he would also say the same thing (though he would be wrong to think of that), and it brought his hopes down. **However** , the fact that a girl was walking with him now was not an illusion, so unnoticeable though it may be — one could see Shigeo slightly staring into space with a dazed expression on his visage, if one looked hard enough.

 _'Does that mean that I am...popular?'_ the hopeful boy thought to himself, imaginary sparkles surrounding his head.

This was a first time for him, the first time wherein he had a girl to walk with going home. So it was going to be a memorable day.

"S-so...you and your brother don't go home together?" Yumei asks suddenly, pulling him back to earth with which he just calmly nod his head. "Ritsu has his Student Council duty, so most of the time I go home early. Although," he added, glancing at the sunset, "This is past the time I usually go home."

"Well...I _did_ just delay all of you back there..." Yumei mumbled low, her mind going back to the events barely an hour ago.

* * *

 _"Good to have you!"_

 _Musashi says with a big smile as he took Yumei's hand in his big one's for a handshake. She then gladly introduced herself afterwards, "M-my name is Shizuma Yumei...! I know it's unusual for a girl like me to join you but pleasetakecareofme!" she yelled for her voice to project to her taller upperclassmen and bowing deeply to show respect to her new club mates._

 _"Eh? Shizuma-san? You're joining us?" Shigeo finally got through the tall figures of the others, seeing her in the center of the two groups. Yumei straightened her back at his voice, pushing her glasses further back on her nose since it slid down when she lowered her head._

 _"Oh, Kageyama, you know her?" Musashi asks him._

 _Mob nodded as he stared up to the man. "She's my classmate."_

 _"That makes it easier then. Hello, passionate one, my name is Gouda Musashi from Class 3-3 and this club's president, nice to meet you!" the male with the thick eyebrows said._

 _"I'm Sagawa Jun, I'm also a second year like you from Class 2-2." the one with the shaved head nodded his head to her casually. "Y-you're a second year?!" She asks incredulously, looking at him in shock who just nodded slowly. Yumei couldn't believe it. Someone her age was this muscular...and short (Though she's still the shortest one of them all)._

 _"He doesn't look like it, right?" laughed a male with a tall, lemon colored Mohican who had no visible eyebrows. "Anyway, I'm Kumagawa Hiroshi, from class 3-2. Nice to meet you." Yumei gave a short nod accompanied with a small smile to acknowledge his greeting._

 _"I'm from Class 3-3 same as Musashi, Yamamura Hideki. Pleased to meet you," a male with flat black hair and small eyes told her next, his face drawn into an emotionless expression making it hard for her to read if he's actually pleased with her joining or not._

 _"My name's Shimura Ryohei," a tall male with a long and sharp pompadour hairstyle nodded to her (which nearly stabbed her eye when he did that), "I'm from class 3-1, nice to meet you."_

 _"Onigawara Tenga, third year." says another one who had a pompadour hairstyle, but shorter, and had visible bags under his eyes. Unlike the other members, he wasn't that apparently muscular (aside from Shigeo of course), and he wasn't even looking at her when he introduced herself, something she was always quick to notice. She then immediately thought that maybe he didn't like her joining them, but didn't say anything about it._

 _Yumei then turned to the last member, Shigeo, and smiled at him. "I guess we're in the same club now, Kageyama-san." She says shyly, scratching her cheek lightly as she stared at him. Shigeo nodded, his eyes beaming, "Welcome to Body Improvement Club, Shizuma-san."_

 _Yumei observed him as he said that, looking for any signs in his face that he was happy for her; but the only recognizable change in his ever deadpan face was that his eyes were different. 'I guess I'll have to look more closely on that part from now on,' she noted to herself so that she can read him more accurately._

 _"Shizuma," Musashi approached her, looking down on her small form. She then snap her head up in return, being too short compared to him. "I don't think you know this but, in order to officially join us — you have to submit a form to the Student Council."_

 _"Ah, I forgot about that." Mob says, also looking at her._

 _"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" she asks, not understanding what they're getting at._

 _"You see, Shizuma-san," Shigeo addressed her. "We have to wait for the Student Council to finish their meeting for the day so that you can pass your form."_

 _"Oh, is that so?" she thought back to Ritsu and the others in the Student Council Room earlier, wherein the president just walked out on them and they were currently confused as to what was happening. Although Ritsu came back to the room for some urgent matters, meaning they were still busy at the moment. "Then, when will that be?"_

 _"Since we were early to end our activity, we would have to wait for an hour or so." Hiroshi says as he glanced at the wall clock in the room and combed his Mohican straight._

 _"A-an hour more?!" Yumei exclaims loudly, thinking, 'What could we possibly do during that time?' "I...I guess I can wait." she told nobody in particular as she looked around for things to do, and in doing so, she saw the uninterested stare Tome was sending her._

 _"I'll wait for you. After all, I'm the president." smiled Musashi as he pat her head with his rough and large hand, making her jump because she didn't anticipate him to. "Just stay put, I'll go and change."_

 _And as if that was a cue that all the members were waiting, they all picked up their bags and head out the room to change. Shigeo stayed put, his gaze fixed to the retreating backs of his club mates before looking back to Yumei. "I'll wait for you, too."_

 _Before Yumei could look at him and be surprised, he was already gone, just like before._

* * *

"Shizuma- _san,_ if you don't mind..." Shigeo calls out to her, interrupting her thoughts. "I have a question I would like to ask."

"What is it, Kagayama- _san_?" she casts him a side glance in question, noticeably walking closer to him as the sun sets lower in the horizon.

Shigeo looked at her dark brown eyes, not noticing the closing distance. "Why did you join our club?"

She pursed her lips and shifted her gaze, afraid that she may be laughed at when she told her reason. Then again, Shigeo seemed to be not that type of person, and so even if they just met today, she felt like she could already trust him. She fixed her glasses nervously, "I-I really don't have any talents in sports or things like arts..." she began, her voice slightly quivering from her sudden confession. "But I want to improve my health. It's not like I'm sick or anything like that, but I just wasn't fit enough...and besides, I would like to try new things in a new city and in a new school."

Shigeo looked at her in a new light as she offered that explanation, in a way relating to her with regards to improving himself. It was just like looking in a mirror.

"That's amazing...Shizuma- _san_." He mumbled to himself, soft enough for her not to hear.

"Hm? Did you say something, Kageyama- _san_?"

"N-no, nothing..." he said, then tried to change the subject. "Uh, I was trying not to be curious about it, but..." he trails off, not sure how to proceed. Yumei looked at him with a brow raised, waiting for him to continue. He then tilted his head, "What happened between you and the Telepathy Club before we came?"

"Ah...! Hahaha," she scratch her cheek nervously, trying to remember what happened earlier.

During the one hour that they were waiting for the Student Council meeting to end, Musashi tried to strike a conversation between all of them and the Telepathy Club; however, they were uncooperative. They were either back to gaming or reading or sleeping, and any attempt of apologizing to them didn't make Tome less hostile to Yumei — who didn't clearly understand her reason on why should a girl like her join a club of muscle building. There was no urgent reason that they needed Yumei to join their club since they were allowed to continue to exist, however, Tome insisted that Yumei had "something special" that will make the search on telepaths become easier and therefore bring their club's purpose to a close especially since Tome was a graduating student; and also believed that Yumei was a "true believer at heart" and told her meeting them was "fate" (while passionately gesticulating everywhere to add a dramatic flair). With which Yumei solidly declined her offer because their club was "shady", and "weird".

Let's just say the remainder of that time was spent in silence.

"They tried to recruit me but as you can see, I declined them and joined your club. Uh, well - I didn't actually decline them by telling them directly but I decline them by joining you...so I guess that was a shock to them and..." the words after that were lost as Yumei absentmindedly mumbled to herself along the rest of their way.

Mob blinked, not knowing how to react to her spontaneous mumbling. He then decided to let her be and stare ahead to see the street where they're heading to.

He notices something as he sees the road ending, so he interrupted her thoughts by calling her name. "Shizuma- _san_ , I'll go this way..." he points to the direction directly opposite to where Yumei was going.

She blinked. "Oh, okay. Then...see you tomorrow, Kageyama- _san._ " She smiled at him, slightly disappointed that their walk together ended here.

"See you tomorrow." he waved back.

Yumei waited until he turned around to go to his destination before she turned as well. However, her demeanor changed when the last rays of the sun went out - and she became instantly jittery, her smile dropping. She stayed close to the street lights on the way home and was walking briskly, eyes flitting back and forth in the near darkness of the streets. When at last her house came in her sight, she sprinted towards it without anymore hesitation.

* * *

" _Okaa-san, otou-san..._ I'm home." Yumei says with a blank face, as she swung the door open, her dark brown eyes scanning the entrance for any sign of them as she removes her school shoes by the door. The response she got was instantaneous.

Loud and quick footsteps were heard coming to her way as a man came into view from the living room on her left. He has dark brown hair with a military buzz-cut, with a large scar on the left of his face, running down from his hairline to his upper lip that almost made his onyx eye blind. His square jaw was the second most prominent feature on his face, aside from the scar, that defined the man without needing words. He was significantly taller than an average Japanese, a trait that he got from his American mother.

"Kyouko! Yumei's home!" he hollers to his wife, before walking towards his daughter. "What happened? Did you get lost? Why are you late?" He asks worriedly as he clutches her by the shoulders.

"I joined a club, _otou-san,_ so I went home late. I'm sorry I didn't text you," Yumei told her father as she slip her indoor slippers, not looking at him.

"Ah! No, no! I was just curious no need to be sorry—"

"Itsuo!" Kyouko came from the kitchen as she looked over her husband, untying her yellow apron as she did. She was a woman with long and wavy blonde hair tied up into a high ponytail, with deep brown eyes that just complement her hair color. She had a perfect heart-shaped face and slightly tanned complexion that most men would vie for. "What are you doing there, dallying? She must be starving. Let's eat!" she sternly told her husband, glancing at Yumei once before setting her eyes on Itsuo.

"Right, let's eat!" the male brunette urged the other brunette in the house, placing a hand on her back.

Yumei nodded silently, following her mother's lead as her father took the rear, going to the dining room straight ahead past the stairs. The air was silent as always, the only sound in the entire house were the sounds of their feet on the wooden floor, making the trip seem longer than it actually were. Yumei did not attempt to speak, for she knew that it would just make them jumpy.

"H-how was school?" Kyouko's voice cracked under the heavy atmosphere as she removed her apron over her head and crossed the threshold. "It was fine. I met a lot of people today," Yumei responded flatly as she gazed around curiously. They just moved in recently after all, so she still hasn't gotten used to her new home.

The one-wall kitchen took up a fourth of the size of the room: neat and orderly, just like what her mother would like. The rest of the space served to be the dining room, with an eight seater table complete with four wooden chairs that looked like it belonged to a hotel. However, that wasn't the eye-catching detail that piqued Yumei's interest, it wasn't the large glass sliding door that leads to the garden outside nor the azure wallpaper that made the room look underwater nor the flat screen TV that hung opposite the said sliding door — what caught her eye was the large painting on the wall, facing the table. It seemed out of place with its elegant strokes and ancient Japanese art style depicting a cherry blossom on the peak of spring, with swallows circling the quiet stream beside it.

"Really now?" Itsuo smiles at the back of his daughter's head while she stared at the painting, "No accident, I suppose?"

Yumei shook her head and offered him a tight-lipped smile whilst pulling a chair and sitting down, placing her school bag on the chair beside her. "Fortunately, no."

"That's good!" Her father exclaims, grinning as he took the seat in front of her. Yumei kept her tight-lipped smile in response and avoided his gaze.

"Here, curry rice! Your favorite," Her mother says as she served them one by one with a plate. "Thanks, mom." Yumei told her, catching the deep brown eyes she inherited from her mother involuntarily — and in an instant, Kyouko looked away, feeling a shiver run down from her spine. "O-of course...! Anything for my daughter!" She added hurriedly as she took the seat beside her husband.

Yumei looked down to hide her eyes with her bangs and pretended nothing happened while fixing her glasses. She started wearing them for this particular reason, to hide her eyes or to lessen the effect on her parents, but she supposed that was naive thinking.

So she decided to get it over with. " _Itadakimasu_!"

In response, her mother and father followed suit. " _Itadakimasu_!"

Dinner was spent in silence as they ate while staring at their own plate, none of them trying to uplift the atmosphere as they all eat animatedly. Thankfully, Itsuo opened the TV and changed it to his favorite sports channel just to liven up things, giving the excuse that he hasn't seen the latest game yet, then turned the volume up — loud enough to serve as white noise.

It was suffocating. The atmosphere was suffocating. Yumei had no appetite in this situation and felt exhausted just by sitting there eating noiselessly, trying not to gaze onto each of their eyes and keeping her head down so she won't catch any of her parent's nervous glances. Hence, she finished her plate without asking for seconds and stood up — which Itsuo and Kyouko immediately reacted by looking up at her.

"Finished?"

"Do you want to take a bath?"

She shook her head, talking to her plate. "I'm tired. I just wanna sleep."

"Oh, of course!" Itsuo stood up as well and looked down at her. "I'll send you to your bedroom."

Yumei nodded, taking her school bag while telling her mother good night which she sent back. The both of them then exit the dining room, back to the hallway and turned to the stairs beside the entrance door. They then go up to her bedroom right beside the stairs which was enclosed with two padlocks, three chain locks that vary in size, and one deadbolt. Yumei stood aside to let her father unlock all of these before entering her bedroom.

Upon entering, she flipped the switch to light up her forest green bedroom, making her way to her desk adjacent to her door to discard her school bag on her chair. Her room was fairly big, enough for her to do various things without worrying about space. She had indoor recreational stuffs like board games, video games, and books all arranged into their respective cabinets and shelves on the wall. She also had a low coffee table surrounded by flat violet cushions to sit on.

What impressed her was that how quick the workers arranged her bedroom: with the layout of the furniture and the specific wallpaper of a deep, green forest exactly like it was before. A few days ago, this was but a storage room, but she soon stopped wondering because she remembered her father was a retired military, which means they had money to pay them to do their work fast.

Before closing, her father stopped and stared at her — which she noticed since he wasn't locking her in and raise an eyebrow yet tried to avoid his gaze by looking at his nose. "Yumei..." he said, and for the first time that day, her father dropped his exhausting smile. "Don't give up, you hear me?"

Her eyes widen as she looked him in his onyx eyes in shock. But before she could speak in return — her father locked her in. There was silence in her room, except for the sound of the locks outside as Itsuo placed the locks back to its place.

Yumei kept quiet as she stared into space, repeating the words her father said to her.

 _Don't give up, you hear me?_

"Don't give up..." she repeated to herself, then scoffed, turning on her heel to take her _futon_ from the cabinet in the far corner and lay it on the _tatami_ mat.

She won't — _couldn't_ give up even if she wanted to. They didn't need to remind her; she had no choice on the matter. Besides, she, of all people, would know what happens if she did. Because if she did give up, then that was when all will truly end — for her...and for her parents.

 _'I couldn't give up even if I wanted to...'_ she told herself.

With that bitter thought in mind, she changed into her light blue pajamas and flip the switch to turn off the light in her windowless bedroom.

 _'I couldn't give up...'_


	5. 05 - Mob's True Identity

**[A/N]: Thanks for everyone who reviewed and followed it! It means so much to me. Sorry for not updating for long, [school works, a shit ton of them]. Anyway, just to inform you, this story takes place after the anime and before Mogami's arc, and if you find my story interesting, please leave a comment. Every criticism/encouragement/opinion counts!**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 05 — Mob's True Identity  
**_

Yumei wasn't always the type of person to listen to announcements.

She wasn't the type to let her mind fixate on one thing for very long and in result, she would always lose herself in pleasant reveries. It didn't help that she was near the back of the crowd; causing the inactivity of her mind by the early hours of the morning combined with the drawling voice of the one speaking to let her drift off. However, she was abruptly brought back by the sudden bursts of shocked whispers by the students around her, and she looked around languidly at all their surprised faces, trying to find what got them to react like that.

She then returned her gaze to the one standing in front of the podium: a male with well kept hair and black eyes that seemed blank as he surveyed the crowd before him with ease, his voice firm and steady as he spoke — like he was used to standing in front of large crowds. Yumei remembered this person from yesterday: he was the one who she saw exiting the room of the Student Council as members of the said council chase after him.

"...That is why," the male continues, sweeping his black eyes on the crowd once more, "As of today, I, Kamuro Shinji, will retire from my Student Council President's position." he finished, earning another shocked gasps that rippled through the crowd. "Because of my hasty decision," he added, briefly silencing the students. "A part of our students were falsely accused and had to bear the consequences. I have caused you a lot of trouble..."

And just like that, the (now former) Student Council President stepped back from the podium and left the stage through the stairs.

And that was how her second day in Salt Middle School began with a _bang_.

The rest of the morning was spent with relentless gossips about what happened at the latest morning assembly. In between periods, everyone was talking about the retirement of the Student Council President and who would replace him. During break, some were actually considering to run for the position and submit their names. It came to the point where Yumei herself wanted to ask Shigeo what he thought of the matter, since it's the only available topic to start a conversation with, but when she turned around she find herself disappointed to see him sleeping with his lips slightly parted, looking excessively tired.

But when lunch came and he was still out cold, the brunette decided that something was wrong and shook his shoulder gently to wake him up. Still, he slept on. Yumei raised a brow at this, wondering what kept him exhausted that caused him to sleep all throughout the morning. It was fortunate that he wasn't called to recite, like yesterday, but it was probably because students keep whispering about what happened in the morning assembly that the teachers were distracted to notice someone was openly sleeping.

"Hey, Kagayema- _san_..." she muttered softly, shaking his shoulder a bit more. No response. "Kageyama- _san_." He stirred, but that was him changing position. _'Now, seriously...'_ she thought, staring at him in disbelief. At this rate he could just sleep through the whole day unnoticed, but that was her thinking naively. "Kageya—"

" **Mob-kun!** " someone interjected loudly from behind, making Yumei jump out of her wits. The brunette looked around to the one who screamed blithely and shamelessly to see a female with a pink digital camera hanging from her neck, having a dijon-colored hair, and sporting a short hairstyle that it almost resembled Mob's, though more girlish.

The yell was what made Shigeo wake up, snapping out from his torpor and sitting up straight, catching two pairs of eyes staring down at him which made him slightly confused. Without any sort of preamble, the newcomer then took both of his shoulders into her hands and shook him rather forcefully. "The next Student Council Election, Mob- _kun_ , you have no choice but to participate!" the female exclaims, causing a few students to turn their heads to her words in surprise then snigger loudly when they saw who she was talking to.

Still shaking himself from the deep sleep, he mistook some of her words as he replied, "Eh...? Are you gonna compete, Mezato- _san_?" Mezato shook him more vigorously in return, "No, not me! _You_! I'm talking about you!"

"Eh? But I'm not applying," Shigeo yawned, covering his mouth as he did so which only made Mezato frustrated.

" _Uh_ ," came a small sound from her side, making Mezato look towards the petite female standing there awkwardly, waiting to be acknowledged. "Oh, you're Shizuma- _san_ , right?" she added, releasing Shigeo at once and facing her. "I must have surprised you, shouting like that. But News Club members should be as enthusiastic. I'm Mezato Ichi, nice to meet you." she finished with a small bow.

The brunette replied with a clumsy nod of her head. "P-Pleased to meet you, too, Mezato- _san_. I—" Yumei then stopped short, about to introduce herself to her when she remembered that she already knew who she was, so she changed top speed. "—am wondering why you chose Kageyama- _san_ , I mean," she added quickly, not trying to sound offending to Mob, "you seem so oddly passionate about it."

Mezato smiles and abandoned all attempt of persuading Mob (which he inwardly appreciated) and went to Yumei instead, making her nervous. The journalist, after surveying her, then told her. "Why do you ask?"

The question caught Yumei off guard that her confusion showed on her face. "Eh? What? What do you mean?"

With an air of someone who knew something that nobody did, Mezato just smiled and invited Yumei to eat lunch with her. "E-eh? Me?" she clarified, afraid she might have heard wrong. When Mezato repeated what she said, Yumei responded with "I'm glad to!", pleased to see someone willing to spend time with her as they both went towards the cafeteria with Shigeo forgotten.

When they arrived and bought food and found a table to stay, Mezato then proceeded to tell her her reason without further ado. Mezato seemed the type to be straight-forwarded, Yumei thought while barely taking her first bite off her lunch when the other female started talking. "You may not know this, Shizuma- _san_ , especially since you are new to this city, but there's a trending cult these days." Yumei nearly spat the strawberry milk she was drinking at the sudden unexpected information before swallowing it thickly.

"C-cults?" she repeated, taken aback by this abrupt topic.

"It isn't unusual," Mezato shrugged, taking a sip from her soy bean milk.

"Gangs and cults are what run the streets here, and also suspicious-looking offices offering dodgy services, but the point is," she blabbed on, "There is one cult that I belong to and our leader is currently studying here in Salt Middle School — and that someone is Mob- _kun_."

This time, Yumei sharply inhaled her food and coughed hard in hearing this bit of information. Mezato slapped a hand to her back to alleviate her suffering, and later, Yumei brought her head up while fixing her glasses, still shaken. "Wh-what...? Kageyama- _san_...cult? _Leader?!_ " This was simply too much information at once as she stared at her classmate incredulously.

"Shh! Keep it down!" was Mezato's quick response because several students turned their heads towards them at her exclamation. "Ahh—! S-sorry, I couldn't help it..."

Mezato nodded, not pausing to let her breathe in the facts while looking nonchalant. "But he isn't aware of it, yet. Nor any of our members. That's why I'm encouraging him to run for the election so when the time comes, he can be prepared to show himself to the rest of the Psycho Helmet Cult!" During this time, Yumei didn't try to eat nor drink for fear of choking, so she ignored her lunch for the meantime to continue their conversation. _Psycho Helmet Cult...?_

However, before she can digest this news for herself, she didn't see the point of Mezato telling her this. So she asked, "But. . .Mezato- _san_ , why are you telling me this?"

For the first time that day, the journalist paused before talking, looking like she was choosing her words carefully as she set her eyes on hers. The silence unnerved Yumei, especially since s _ilence_ didn't suit someone like Mezato Ichi, so she waited for her response.

But the response she got was not she expected.

"You seem to be concerned for Mob- _kun_ enough, that's why?" Mezato even looked confused and unsure herself that it didn't make sense for Yumei. "If you weren't you wouldn't be asking me, and besides, I just like to tell my master plan to get him out of his shell and be born anew!"

 _'Alright_ ,' Yumei thought, leaning back on her chair. _'Mezato-_ san _is just weird.'_ (But if _she_ was weird then what about the Telepathy Club?)

Yumei shrugged inwardly and pressed on. "But, why do you have him as a leader when he doesn't even know you exist? What did he do?"

Mezato slowly craned her neck to regard what she just said, analyzing her for a moment like she was taking every pore on her face before she took a sudden moment of clarity and saying, "Wait, oh right, I forgot! Of course you didn't know." The journalist released a small laugh as she realized something and shook her head to herself.

The brunette quirked a brow. "What do you mean, Mezato- _san_?"

She, however, refused to say anything but "I don't know if I'm allowed to say. . ."

At this point, however, Yumei was gradually becoming agitated, having received the same kind of talk yesterday where the Telepathy Club seemed to know something she didn't know and weren't bothering to explain it to her — and somehow, it was related to Mob one thing or another. If there was one thing Yumei didn't tolerate, it was being cryptic; she endured being left out most of the time in her previous schools to last her a lifetime and Mezato was doing the exact same thing.

 **[Progress towards Yumei's breakdown: 45%]**

"If you don't want to tell me, it's fine." she muttered lowly, failing to control the bitterness in her tone as she spoke. Mezato seemed to notice her tone because she was immediately trying to mend her mistake. "Eh? Oh no, Shizuma- _san_ , I didn't mean—! Well, he's not trying to keep it a secret anyway so I guess it's fine for me to tell you:" Yumei looked passive at this point and was now looking interested and Mezato took that as a good sign — so the journalist took a deep breath and closed her eyes, "Shizuma- _san_. . . Mob- _kun_ is an esper."

 _Esper._

This wasn't what Yumei had in mind. " _Eh_?" she heard herself say, like a distant echo that she could barely hear. Once upon a time, when times were happy, she might have laughed at Mezato for saying it with a straight face. But no, she couldn't deny it this time, there it is, the word presented itself to her, and suddenly, the Telepathy Club's unwavering devotion to their goal showed sense for once.

Espers.

They do exist, people believe in their existence, and if what Mezato told her was a fact: there are enough number of people who believe in their existence that they had started a cult.

Yumei didn't know why she believed her, but there was something in her eyes that made her.

Then suddenly, a burst of excitement gushed out from her chest. Yumei felt confused yet elated, so much so that she was actually not paying close attention to what Mezato was blabbing on at the moment.

 _"—maybe we'll persuade him by using his love interest as the reason, don't you think? It may give him the inspiration—"_

"Yes." Yumei nodded, not entirely sure what she was agreeing on with her mind still grasping the truth behind Mob's identity. She let her speak, it was not important at the present, everything can wait.

 _"—right. So I'll tell him "Tsubomi-chan" will get interested—"_

"Of course he will." she agreed, not even registering who in the world _Tsubomi-chan_ is.

 _"—then we'll confront him later. Don't you want to finish your food, Shizuma-san?"_

Yumei looked down on her half-eaten lunch and was surprised to see it, as if she had just remembered that they were at the cafeteria eating lunch. The brunette nodded dazedly and picked up her chopsticks, while Mezato continued her feverish approach on how best to persuade Mob.

But Yumei wasn't listening — because she had found someone at last, someone who is, hopefully, a real esper, someone who could help her, who could _truly_ help her, and the prospect of meeting someone that can understand her overwhelmed her so much that she was keeping herself from actually running from the journalist and proceed to confront him about it immediately.

Finally _. . .finally._

 _After all these years.  
_

* * *

 **[A/N]: I understand that after four months of not updating the chapter is a bit too short for expectation. However, it's my current best and I hope you settle for it at the meantime, I apologize. Now, I think it's about time for our main character to meet Reigen - don't you think?**


End file.
